Old Friends
by Loselen Snowstar
Summary: Semi-AU A few friends from Raven's past appear one day, and, without noticing it, have brought someone who wants revenge. Moved from the Teen Titans comics section so as not to get yelled at. R&R please
1. A new beginning

Okay, when I watched Teen Titans, Raven was so much like an OC of mine that I HAD to write this fic.  
  
Raven's past is completely AU. If you have a problem with that, you have been warned.  
  
Reviews are nice. Constructive criticism is appreciated more.  
  
Any character you recognize doesn't belong to me.  
  
On to the fic!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Prologue: A New Start  
  
With a soft creak, the door of a house just like all the other ones on the street opened. It was pitch black, but the figure that emerged had no trouble seeing. The figure's name was Deirdre.  
  
She adjusted her shoulder bag and silently shut the door behind her. Then she began walking toward City Spaceport, the only spaceport on the planet. Her planet was much more magically advanced then technologically.  
  
It was funny, she thought, all during her adventure she had never thought about what she would do afterwards. Her friends would return to their families, but Deirdre didn't have a family. She was quite sure that if her friends knew, one of them would invite her to stay with them. But Deirdre didn't want that. She would make a life for herself somewhere else.  
  
Also, she was sure that her problem was one she would have to work out on her own.  
  
When she reached the spaceport, Deirdre looked at the posters of different planets and moons. One smallish blue-green planet caught her eye. She walked over and grabbed one of the information booklets below it.  
  
"Earth," it read, "a small planet mostly covered by water. People intelligent, but neither very magically nor technologically advanced. Good vacation spot. Must see sites:"  
  
Deirdre shut the booklet. That sounded good. And it was probably the last place her friends would look for her. Shame on you, she thought, your first act alone and your friends are still ruling your decisions. Shaking her head, she walked over to the ticket master's desk.  
  
"I'd like to buy a one way ticket to earth, please," she asked the man, her voice taking the cold monotone it usually had with strangers.  
  
"Name, please?" the man asked, peering down his nose at her. She matched him stare for stare.  
  
"Raven," she lied, not missing a beat. "And your last name?"  
  
"I don't have one," Deirdre replied, still with no emotion.  
  
"One of Jorryn's orphans, eh?" he asked, referring to her as one of the many children whose parent's had been killed by The Evil One.  
  
"Yes," Deirdre said, still cold, but inside she was leaping for joy, that was the perfect lie! Hundreds of Jorryn's orphans had been leaving the planet to look for a new life elsewhere in the universe.  
  
"Sorry to hear that," the man said, "Platform nine, leaves in one hour. That'll be six golds."  
  
Deirdre handed him the money and walked toward platform nine. Her new life was about to begin, and this time, it would go right. 


	2. Lost and Found

Yaaay! I got reviews! Thanks to all who reviewed!  
  
Priestess: New life, new start, new name, sort of goes together. Besides, it makes it that much harder for her friends to find her. A new life WITHOUT her friends is the goal here. Not like it works too well but still...  
  
Weirdo coffee high girl: Aww! Thanks! I have an admirer!  
  
Any character you recognize doesn't belong to me.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
~ Four Years Later ~  
  
"Ah! Vacation!" said Will, stretching as much as was possible in the cramped airplane seat.  
  
"Yeah, it is nice, what with being pushed to our limit for so long-LEE!!" Ericka looked pointedly at the blonde girl.  
  
"I seem to remember you backing her up on every decision she made, so you can't really complain," Fiona backed up Lee, who, oddly enough, seemed completely oblivious.  
  
"Lee? Something wrong?" April asked.  
  
"Well, I've just been thinking--" she started.  
  
"Oh no, that's never good!" Will joked.  
  
"Shut-up. Anyway, I'm beginning to think we may never find Deirdre. We've been looking for four years, and not a trace. It's sort of depressing, really." Lee sighed.  
  
"Hey, don't give up," Ericka said, "it's a big planet, and we haven't even checked most of it yet."  
  
"This coming from the girl who two minutes ago was saying that you worked us too hard" Will cut in, "besides, if you lose hope, what have the rest of us got?"  
  
"Good point," Lee smiled, "Now let's quit moping and enjoy our vacation!"  
  
***  
  
Later that night, the girls sat on the roof of their hotel looking at the stars.  
  
"So different from the ones at home," Will looked up at stars and pointed at one of the smaller ones, "Hey, look! Circling around that star is home."  
  
"Nice to know we can still see it from here," Fiona commented, "I'm COLD!!"  
  
"You're always cold," April said, "quit whining."  
  
Suddenly Ericka spoke, "Did you hear that?"  
  
"Hear what?" Lee asked.  
  
"Just thought I heard something," Ericka shook her head.  
  
A couple minutes later there was a shout that they all heard.  
  
They scrambled over to the edge of the building and looked down at the scene below them.  
  
"Don't come any closer," a very cold voice said.  
  
"What's the matter? Afraid of the LIGHT?" the man said.  
  
"Why does he keep yelling light?" April asked  
  
"He sounds like a knight at crown tourney," Fiona joked, but it was lost as they saw what happened next.  
  
The girl rose up, darkness surrounding her 'like tentacles' Will thought 'for lack of a better word.'  
  
The darkness grabbed the man and pulled him toward the girl. The man seemed to be having a panic attack.  
  
"What's the matter? Afraid of the DARK?" Will's jaw dropped. She new that voice...  
  
Will tore her eyes away to look at her friends. All but Lee had recovered from their shock. Lee was staring.  
  
April waved her hand in front of Lee's face, "Lee. Earth to Lee. Do you hear me, Lee?"  
  
Lee blinked, shook her head and looked again, "It's...It's...It's her! We found her!"  
  
***  
  
It was typical day at the Teen Titans tower. After Beast Boy and Cyborg had apologized to Raven for snooping around in her room, life had returned to normal. Cyborg and Robin were playing video games, Starfire and Beast Boy were watching and Raven was sitting in the corner reading Edgar Allen Poe.  
  
The doorbell rang.  
  
"I'll get it!" Beast Boy called, already walking to the door.  
  
He opened the door to see a group of girls standing there, "Can I help you with something?"  
  
One blonde girl answered, "Yes, we're looking for D-Raven." She said rather quickly.  
  
"Okay," Beast boy shut the door and turned back towards the stairs, "Hey, Raven! There are some people looking for you!"  
  
Raven came down the stairs and opened the door, "What do you w...ant." She stared.  
  
"Deirdre?" said the blonde girl who had spoken to Beast Boy.  
  
"Lee?" Raven managed to say before she was squished in a huge hug from all the girls.  
  
It was Beast Boy's turn to stare. He made out three comments from the girls, "It's been four years!", "What did you do to your hair?" and "Can't...Breathe..."  
  
It took a few seconds before he could speak, "Raven, who are they?"  
  
Raven turned to look at him, a huge smile on her face, "They're my friends."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Wheeee! Chapter one done! I'll do some explaining next chapter, I promise.  
  
Suggestions? Comments? Questions? Clicky da little blue button! 


	3. Explainations

Wow! Are you guys lucky or what? I'm bored and feeling creative so you get another chapter a lot sooner than you would normally.  
  
Ravyn Izou: Yeah, I can understand that.  
  
Kraven the hunter: Me too! It's one of my favorite lines ever!  
  
Here's the fic!  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"I'm still lost back at the 'they're my friends part'" Beast Boy said.  
  
"Okay, let's try this from the part that's relevant to you," Lee said, taking a deep breath and shifting into her storytelling mode, "We've been friends with Deirdre for a very long time. One day, not too long after our adventure-"  
  
"What adventure?" Cyborg asked.  
  
April smiled, "Maybe we'll explain later. Right now, it isn't important."  
  
"What do you mean?" Fiona cut in, "It's a huge part of the story!"  
  
"But if we tell it, it'll take forever, and you don't need to know that part for it to make sense," Will said in an unusually calm voice.  
  
"IF I may continue?" Lee broke in.  
  
"Sure, go ahead" Ericka smiled.  
  
"Thank you," she continued, "Anyways, one morning Deirdre had just disappeared. After a week we realized this wasn't just one of her I-am- going-to-wander-off-alone-because-I-am-antisocial things. With some kind of a flash of insight, Fiona suggested we check to see if she had been at the spaceport."  
  
"I was right too," Fiona broke in, "The ticket master remembered her. Not many people go through there, and he has a good memory for faces."  
  
"I'm actually surprised, Deirdre, you could do a much better job at hiding your tracks than that." Ericka added.  
  
"I had my reasons for everything I did," she said.  
  
"But anyway," Lee kept going as if they hadn't been talking, "We're here for two reasons: One, to find out why Deirdre left in the first place, and two, to try to get her to come back."  
  
"Which I don't think we're going to do, but it's worth a shot," Will said.  
  
"And I don't intend to tell, either," Raven said and left the room.  
  
"Has Raven always acted as she does now?" Starfire asked.  
  
"Yeah, pretty much," April smiled, "but I can normally get her to show some kind of emotion when I'm joking around."  
  
"That's because your jokes normally involve putting dead bugs in someone's shampoo," Ericka grimaced.  
  
April thought for a moment, "Actually, I've never done that. But it's a good idea."  
  
"Oh, no," Ericka moaned looking pleadingly at her friends.  
  
"Don't ask us for help," Fiona said, "You signed the April clause. Anyone who puts an idea in April's head must help her until it reaches fruition or she loses interest."  
  
Ericka muttered several rude words under her breath.  
  
"But anyway, my point is that she never ignores me," April continued.  
  
"Yeah, like she would ignore the person who dyed Pitch urp," Ericka said.  
  
"What's urp?" Robin asked.  
  
"A really ugly color," Lee said, "Think of a mix of pink and purple in the worst possible way."  
  
"Okay," Robin said.  
  
"Now add lime green,"  
  
"urp...," Robin looked more than slightly sickened.  
  
"It got its name because that was the only thing anybody could say after seeing it." Fiona finished.  
  
Lee looked at her watch, "We really ought to be going soon. The hotel will kick us out if we don't say we want the room for another night."  
  
"Why not stay here?" Raven had reentered the room, "You're my friends, you can fight, you'll have to stay in the general area anyway, and we have spare rooms. That has stay here written all over it."  
  
"In big urp permanent marker," April grinned evilly.  
  
"I don't see why not," Lee smiled, "and you'd better not try it if you want to live, April."  
  
"Second death threat today. Not bad at all."  
  
***  
  
"Good morning!" Lee had a grin on her face from ear to ear, "I woke up early so I made breakfast. You like pancakes?"  
  
"How can you be so cheerful this early in the morning with no caffeine?" Ericka asked trying to stifle a huge yawn.  
  
"It's a gift. Morning, Deirdre. Here," she handed her a cup.  
  
Raven looked at her oddly.  
  
"It's herbal tea. I know you, remember?"  
  
Raven nodded, "Thank you, Lee"  
  
"You're welcome! Anyone else want pancakes?"  
  
~~~~~  
  
Second chapter done! Next one will have some of those warm, squishy feelings. Like road kill in July. Eeewww...  
  
Review! Review! Review! Review! And in case I haven't made it clear...REVIEW!!!! 


	4. Like Roadkill in July

As promised, warm, fuzzy, squishy, road kill in July feelings this chapter.  
  
theEVILcat: That was pretty much how my mom reacted.  
  
Dave's insanity sauce: Don't worry. It is.  
  
Emalynn Eleriel: Thank you!  
  
~~~~  
  
"So," Ericka said as they were finishing breakfast, "We were thinking that we would go exploring today."  
  
"After all, it was going to be a bit of a vacation for us," Fiona continued.  
  
"All right," Raven said, "Enjoy yourselves."  
  
"Oh, you're coming with us Deirdre," April replied, her eyes not leaving the comics section.  
  
Raven raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me? I don't think so."  
  
"We weren't asking, we were telling," Will explained.  
  
"Come on Deirdre, it'll be fun," Lee gave her the puppy dog eyes.  
  
"No, and don't give me the puppy eyes, they don't work. I'm not going and you can't talk me into it.  
  
***  
  
"I can't believe you talked me into this," Raven said as they walked out the door of Teen Titans tower.  
  
"Never say 'you can't' to Lee," Ericka replied, "as soon as you say that, it's a challenge, and she can."  
  
***  
  
At the end of the day the girls returned, chattering among themselves about the day. Only Raven was quiet, but even she seemed happier than usual. But the minute they walked into Teen Titans tower, she clammed up again.  
  
As they approached the hall where Raven's room was, Lee spun around to face her, "All right, Deirdre, spill it."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Raven asked.  
  
"It takes us all day to get you to loosen up, but as soon as we get back here, you turn in to a clam. There is something going on here, and we want ANSWERS!" Fiona yelled.  
  
"There's nothing wrong, and even if there was, there's no way you could get me to tell you," Raven said coldly.  
  
"Nothing, Deirdre?" April grinned evilly.  
  
"If I remember right, you are very ticklish," Ericka finished.  
  
"Oh, no. Don't you even--," she started to say but was cut off by her own laughter.  
  
***  
  
As Beast Boy walked around the corner, he heard laughter. Ducking back, he peeked around the corner to see Raven lying on the floor with the five girls tickling her. Raven was LAUGHING. He wondered if the world was really going to end in the near future.  
  
"Tell us!" Will yelled.  
  
"No!"  
  
"Come on, tell us!" Lee yelled.  
  
"No!" Raven cried, trying to roll away.  
  
"We'll keep it a secret," Fiona added, "Come on, tell us."  
  
"Alright, fine, I'll tell you," Raven sat up, pushing the girls away.  
  
Beast Boy stood there as if frozen. He knew that he probably shouldn't be listening to this, but he figured this was probably the only chance he would ever get to find out what Raven was thinking, so he stayed put.  
  
"Why are you even darker than you used to be?" Lee demanded.  
  
"It has to do with Jorryn," she said, "I get the feeling he's still around, and it's making me nervous."  
  
"That isn't possible, he's dead remember?" Will said.  
  
"Nothing ever ends that cleanly," Raven sighed, "It was far too easy to get rid of him. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but still..."  
  
"Maybe you are, but maybe you aren't" April looked at Raven, "but that isn't all of it, I'm sure. Tell us the rest."  
  
Raven sighed, "I don't think the other Teen Titans trust me completely."  
  
"Do you trust them completely?" Fiona asked.  
  
"Yes...no...I'm not sure."  
  
"Well, until you trust them completely, don't expect them to," Fiona concluded.  
  
"Besides, you sort of make it hard for people to trust you," Ericka added, "You always build walls around yourself Deirdre...have you ever tried bridges?"  
  
Raven arched one eyebrow, "That was cryptic even for you, Ericka."  
  
"Queen of the metaphors, that's me," Ericka laughed.  
  
"That wasn't a metaphor," Will said.  
  
"Whatever. Okay, so why did you leave in the first place?" April asked.  
  
"Because you had families to go to and I didn't," she said.  
  
"That's all?" Ericka laughed, "You know one of us would have let you stay."  
  
"That's just it!" Raven interrupted, "I wanted my own life, my own home, not yours."  
  
"So you came to earth to find it," Fiona finished.  
  
Raven nodded.  
  
"So have you found it?" Lee asked.  
  
Raven thought for moment, "I'm not sure."  
  
Will stared, "Four years and you're not even sure!"  
  
"I don't make snap decisions,"  
  
The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing, "Oh, that's RICH!" Will laughed so hard tears streamed down her cheeks, "the girl who ran away in the middle of the night says she doesn't make snap decisions."  
  
"Are you done yet?" Raven asked, but the deadly serious tone of her voice only sent them into further peals of laughter, "If you ever stop laughing, I'll be in my room."  
  
Beast Boy left, shaking his head. As he reentered the living room, Starfire spoke, "Beast Boy, would you go find Raven and her friends? We are going to watch 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'"  
  
"Okay," Beast Boy returned to the hallway he had just left. The five girls were still rolling on the floor laughing. They seemed to recover some when they saw him though.  
  
"Hi, what's up?" Will managed to say before cracking up again.  
  
"We're going to watch 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail'. You want to come?"  
  
"Sure!" April cried, springing to her feet and heading down the hall, "I love Monty Python! We are the nights who say NI!"  
  
The five girls went down the hall, quoting bits of Monty Python. Lee heard a door open and stopped, peeking back around the corner exactly as Beast Boy had been doing moments before. She sensed her friends doing the same, but she didn't look.  
  
"Hey, Raven," Beast Boy said, "We're going to watch 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', Do you want to watch it with us?"  
  
"Sure, why not?" the door opened wider and she stepped into the hall.  
  
"Oh, and here," Beast Boy handed her a book, "I found this at an antiques shop, and it looked like the kind of thing you were interested in."  
  
Raven looked at the book, "Thank you."  
  
Lee smiled as she and her friends walked down the hall, "That was sweet. It had all those warm, fuzzy, squishy feelings in it."  
  
"Like road kill in July," April added.  
  
Ericka grimaced, "April, that's disgusting!"  
  
"But it's true!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
There! Warm, fuzzy, squishy feelings. In case you can't tell, I'm a major Beast Boy and Raven believer.  
  
Next chapter I will get around to the more serious stuff.  
  
I have decided I must get at least two reviews per chapter before I update. MUWAHAHA! I'm hold the next chapters hostage! So review! 


	5. Of Dreams and Intelligent Lunchmeat

Now I will do some serious stuff.  
  
Weirdo coffee high girl: Don't worry; I'll still have funny bits.  
  
Tsuki-chan: Lee's powers are like Deirdre's, only it looks white when she does it. Will controls water, in all its various forms. Everybody else is clearly explained this chapter.  
  
To the fic!  
  
~~~~~  
  
Raven was once again in the dream. It was almost the only dream she ever had since the death of Jorryn. She was in the final battle again.  
  
"Fiona!" April called, wheeling high on the wind above them, "Up here!"  
  
She went into a dive directly toward Fiona. When she pulled up, she held Fiona firmly by the shoulders. Fiona shot a blast of fire at Jorryn from the air, which he easily dodged.  
  
April shifted her grip on Fiona, and put her hand right next to Fiona's. Working together, their powers fused, and they sent a blast of lightening at Jorryn.  
  
Jorryn jumped back and sent the lightening bolt back at them, it hit April in the wing. She gave a scream of pain that sounded more like a birdlike than human.  
  
Deirdre watched in horror as April and Fiona plummeted to the ground. She heard a sickening crunch as Fiona's arm twisted underneath her and snapped.  
  
She saw Will out of the corner of her eye. Crouching like a cat, she launched herself into the air towards Jorryn, her ice knife aimed at his throat. He stepped back and sent a quick upper cut into Will's jaw, sending her flying backwards into a rock. She tried to lift her head, but it fell back again.  
  
Lee's voice rang clearly in her head /Ericka, you know what to do. Deirdre and I will distract him/. Ericka nodded almost imperceptibly and slowly edged around behind Jorryn.  
  
Lee sent a blast right at Jorryn. The light hung over his face, blinding him. He stumbled back, almost into the chasm that Ericka had opened in the earth behind him, stopping just before it. The evil he radiated as he looked at them was something to be felt.  
  
He flew straight at Ericka, causing her to stumble back and trip over a rock. She fumbled furiously in the pouch at her waist and pulled out a seed.  
  
She flung it to the ground and pointed. The seed dug its roots into the ground and grew rapidly. It finally stopped at about eight feet tall. Deirdre recognized it as Dragonvine, a mercifully rare plant that was carnivorous, voracious, and SMART.  
  
The Dragonvine did not last long against Jorryn, but it was long enough for Ericka to get her feet back under her. The girl sent a boulder flying at Jorryn but he stopped it. He tried to send it back at Ericka and they became locked in a battle of strength. Jorryn was quickly tiring. He knew that Ericka would be able to hold up against him forever if she kept focused.  
  
Releasing the boulder a little, Jorryn sent a small rock flying at Ericka's face. She dropped her concentration in surprise. Realizing her mistake, she tried to regain control of the boulder, but not quickly enough.  
  
The rock slammed into Ericka at full force, knocking her down and coming to rest a few feet higher up the hill.  
  
Lee gave a strangled cry and jumped at Jorryn, forgetting the cardinal rule of 'never attack in anger'. Lee's eyes had gone a demonic red, showing her thirst for blood. Deidre stepped back quickly, there was no telling what Lee might do while in this blood-lust, and it would not end until she had drew blood.  
  
Jorryn easily threw Lee into the chasm Ericka had opened. Lee grabbed on to the very edge of the crevice, her feet trying desperately to get a purchase. Jorryn walked over to the very edge and said something to Lee. Deirdre had always wondered what he said.  
  
Lee swung up a punched Jorryn in the nose. She licked the blood she drew off her fist. Her eyes returned to normal. /I'll be back. For now, he's yours, Deirdre/ Lee released the edge and dropped.  
  
Jorryn turned and sent a wave of energy that knocked Deirdre off her feet. He sent another blast, this one clearly meant to kill her. Deirdre tried to dodge, but found herself paralyzed. Deirdre saw the bolt come at her and could only think one thing, 'I'm going to die now.'  
  
She never felt the blast. Opening her eyes, she saw Jorryn standing, breathing heavily and screaming at something in front of her, "You stupid beast! Why did you get in my way?"  
  
Deidre scrambled to her feet to see Pitch, her Pitch, her beloved pet, lying on the ground. She did not have to check to know that he was dead.  
  
"You killed him," she said, rage building in her body, "I'LL KILL YOU!"  
  
With those words, she swung at Jorryn, intent on causing him as much pain as possible. Jorryn flipped Deidre over his shoulder. She landed on her hands and knees, panting heavily.  
  
He walked over to her, grinning evilly, "So, it's this easy to get rid of you. With your reputation, I was expecting more of a challenge."  
  
"Funny," she said, turning around, "I could say the same for you."  
  
Jorryn looked truly shocked, "What?"  
  
She held out her hand, revealing a small crystal, "Goodbye."  
  
The darkness wrapped itself around the crystal, making it crack, "Clever, putting the oily rag you call a soul into this."  
  
Just as Deirdre was about to shatter the crystal completely, a shriek wrenched her out of the dream. She awoke in her own bed, her hand still outstretched in the darkness in front of her. Somehow, she didn't think this boded well.  
  
***  
  
Everyone else in the tower was also awakened by the same shriek. They all rushed downstairs to find Lee in the kitchen, curled into a fetal position and rocking back and forth.  
  
"Lee? What happened? What's wrong?" April asked.  
  
Lee pointed a shaky hand towards the fridge, "Something in there MOVED!"  
  
"I'm sure you were just seeing things," Fiona said comfortingly.  
  
"Then how do you explain it BITING ME?!" Lee yelled, showing them a very clear bite mark on her hand, which was turning a nasty shade of green.  
  
"I have a balm that works wonders," Ericka said, "Be back in a sec."  
  
Lee looked at the still open refrigerator. The lunchmeat blinked back.  
  
"That's it!" Lee yelled, "I am cleaning out the fridge!"  
  
***  
  
About fifteen minutes later, Lee came through the living room with a huge bag over her shoulder.  
  
"Hey, what's in the bag?" Beast Boy asked.  
  
"All the stuff I need for cleaning out the fridge," Lee swung the bag off of her shoulder and opened it, "One rubber glove, the other one's in here somewhere, trash bags, scouring pad, Ah! -- There's the other glove! -- Goggles, and a flamethrower."  
  
"FLAMETHROWER?" Ericka said in disbelief, "Lee, don't you think that that's just a tad bit EXTREME?"  
  
"You wouldn't be saying that if the lunchmeat had bit YOU," Lee grabbed the bag and walked into the kitchen.  
  
"Okay...That was weird even for Lee," Fiona broke the silence.  
  
Within five minutes the room returned to its normal state of noisiness.  
  
***  
  
Three hours later Lee came out of the kitchen, holding several sodas, "These, the orange juice, the mustard, the ice cream and a couple of frozen T.V. dinners were the only things in that fridge not fuzzy!"  
  
April grabbed one of the sodas, "Caffeine! Yayness!"  
  
Lee spoke through clenched teeth, "Gee, thanks, April. For appreciating all the hard work I did to clean out the fridge."  
  
"Yeah, don't mention it!"  
  
KA-POW! The force of Lee's punch sent April flying across the room. Lee spun on her heel and walked out.  
  
Will walked over to April, "Just as a rule of thumb, when someone is talking through clenched teeth and still manages to come out perfectly clear, it's generally not a good time to say anything other than what they want to hear."  
  
April sat up, hand pressed to the side of her face, "Thanks, I'll remember that. Ow."  
  
***  
  
"Lee?" Raven said, stepping out of her room, "is something wrong?"  
  
"Gee, what gave you that idea?" Lee replied sarcastically.  
  
"Maybe the fact that your emotions are so strong I can feel them while I'm meditating? Or perhaps the fact that the tower just shook." she said dryly, "Tell me."  
  
"I just got angry at April for no good reason. I completely lost control of myself."  
  
"You need to learn how to control your emotions."  
  
Lee snorted, "Oh, like you do? You don't feel anything!"  
  
"My emotions are dangerous," Raven's voice was cold, Lee had touched a nerve.  
  
"So are mine! We do have to be careful to control our emotions, but that doesn't mean that we can't feel any."  
  
"Well then, if you know so much about it, tell me how I'm supposed to control my emotions," Raven's voice took a rather dangerous edge.  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"Thought so."  
  
"Listen, if you don't want to help me, then just LEAVE ME ALONE!" She turned as if to leave.  
  
The whole tower shook violently.  
  
Lee turned, "Was that me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
***  
  
In the living room, the power went out.  
  
"Aw, man," Cyborg whined, "I was about to win!"  
  
"What a time to have a power failure!" Beast boy said.  
  
"My headphones are dead!" Will moped.  
  
"That is strange," Starfire commented, "I do not believe that a normal power outage is supposed to affect things that run on the power of batteries."  
  
"It's not a normal power outage," Fiona said, "something is very wrong."  
  
"Then let's go see what it is," Ericka said.  
  
They walked upstairs to see Lee, apparently still very angry, yelling at Raven, "I will NOT calm down! I'm angry and I have a right to be that way!"  
  
"Lee, you're going to hurt someone," Raven said.  
  
"Well good!" she shouted, "maybe then people will stop thinking I'm some kind of a happy-go-lucky pushover!"  
  
"Lee. Look at me," Raven said staring directly at Lee.  
  
Lee looked up at Raven and returned almost to normal, "What's wrong with me?"  
  
"I'd like to know that too," Fiona said.  
  
Lee suddenly went angry on them again, "It's none of your business!"  
  
She stormed off, the tower shaking with each step she took.  
  
They heard a door slam above them.  
  
"Does anybody else get this feeling of impending doom?" asked April.  
  
Eight people nodded as the tower violently shook again.  
  
"I'll be right back," Ericka walked into her room.  
  
She reappeared a few seconds later holding a small bunch of blue leaves in one hand.  
  
"What are those?" Beast Boy asked.  
  
"Sersai leaves," Ericka replied, "they make a good sedative."  
  
"You CAN'T be serious!" Fiona cut in, "You want us to drug Lee?"  
  
"If she doesn't calm down, she's going to hurt or maybe even kill someone," Ericka replied, "She's not in control!"  
  
"But..." Will began.  
  
"Do you have a better idea?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Well then we go with this."  
  
They walked up to the roof to see Lee hanging over the edge.  
  
"I feel sicker than the time I ate Ericka's 'special' Dragonvine salad," Lee moaned. She looked like she was about to throw up.  
  
"I hadn't cooked it yet," Ericka defended herself, "of course you got sick!"  
  
"Leave me alone!" Lee shouted. The tower shook again.  
  
"Well," said a cool voice from behind them, "that was easier than I expected."  
  
They all turned around to see a dark haired man standing before them.  
  
"That's not possible!" Will exclaimed, "You're-"  
  
"Dead?" he interrupted, "well, I was, but now I'm back. And you owe it all to your dear friend Lee."  
  
Lee really did throw up.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Ooooh, first cliffie I've ever written.  
  
All the OCs are mine (Jorryn I might consider selling). Use them without permission and I will sic Jorryn on you  
  
Jorryn: *monotone* Roar.  
  
Not much more to be said, really except...review! 


	6. A Battle, A Chance and A Choice

Next chappie is here! This one was hard to write.  
  
M0M: Thanks Mother-type-personification!  
  
Special reader challenge: If anyone can figure out what language Fiona is speaking and what she says in this chapter, you get Joryrn, Jorryn's typo twin, to keep, he's just as much of a bishie, but not sadistic! Yay!  
  
Enough chatter! Fic time!  
  
~~~~~  
  
"What do you mean 'we owe it to Lee'?" Ericka asked.  
  
"Exactly what I said, without Lee, I wouldn't be here," Jorryn replied, "She made a good host for my-" He looked at Raven, "'oily rag that I call a soul' I believe you called it."  
  
"Yes, that was what I called it," Raven replied, "and I would appreciate if you would stop gloating long enough to tell me why you picked Lee, of all people, and how you managed to pull it off without any of us noticing. That isn't minor magic."  
  
"Well, seeing as how I'm going to kill you anyway, I don't suppose it really matters. But I believe I wont tell. It would be much more amusing to make you guess and have your soul be tormented by not knowing when I get my revenge."  
  
"Why do you want revenge?" Lee asked, "If she didn't really kill you it would be kind of stupid, and if anyone here deserves to get revenge, it would be me."  
  
"She may not have killed me," Jorryn said, he looked at Raven and his face twisted into something truly frightening, "BUT IT STILL HURT!"  
  
With those words, he threw a ball of energy at Raven. She jumped over Jorryn's head and landed directly behind him. He turned around to receive a punch in the nose that sent him stumbling backwards.  
  
He recovered his footing just in time to dodge a fireball from Fiona. The redheaded girl sent another one, which he also dodged. Mostly. The left side of his face was burned badly, but he seemed not to notice it.  
  
Beast Boy jumped at Jorryn in the form of a lion. Jorryn jumped out of the way and threw a fire ball at Beast Boy. It stopped halfway and flew back at Jorryn.  
  
"You really need to remember that you can't use fire against me or my friends," Fiona smirked as the ball hit Jorryn.  
  
Jorryn doubled over from the pain, but quickly recovered. He stood up again breathing a little bit heavier than before but otherwise not too bad. He jumped away as Fiona sent another fire ball at him.  
  
"Eheu!" Fiona cried, reverting to her native tongue, "Vir cuadi! Fight me!"  
  
Jorryn ignored Fiona, only succeeding in angering her further.  
  
Will put a hand on Fiona's shoulder, "My turn."  
  
Fiona nodded and backed away as water emptied out of the bay and hovered near Will, changing to ice. Just in time, Raven realized what she was going to do.  
  
"Duck!" she yelled, pulling Beast boy to the ground moments before thousands of ice razors passed were they had just been.  
  
Jorryn had managed to dodge most of the razors, but he still resembled a pincushion. The ice came out and hovered in the air before him. Blood flowed freely from his wounds. He collapsed on the ground.  
  
"I...will...not...die...ALONE!" he yelled, sending the ice razors flying towards Raven.  
  
The girl tried to dodge, but not fast enough. The razors hit her, leaving wounds all across her body.  
  
The last thing she saw was her friends' faces looking completely horrified. Then the world went black.  
  
***  
  
Raven was walking in a cave much like the ones she and her friends had explored during their adventure. She wondered how she had gotten there. She saw a flickering light coming out of another cave and walked toward it.  
  
She entered the cave to see a woman sitting beside a fire. She wasn't much more than a girl actually. She had long frizzy brown hair and looked to be about thirteen years old.  
  
"Come, share my food and fire," the girl said, smiling.  
  
"Am I..." Raven trailed off, not want to say the terrible idea out loud.  
  
"Dead?" the girl asked, "No, but you're close to it."  
  
Raven was at a loss for words.  
  
"You don't have to die if you don't want to," the girl smiled again, "That's why I'm talking to you. To give you a chance to keep going."  
  
"I wasn't actually aware that the gods cared what happened to mortals."  
  
"We don't most of the time," the goddess replied.  
  
"Then why bother giving me a choice?"  
  
"Why not?" came the all too bright answer.  
  
"Because there is absolutely no logic behind it."  
  
"There's absolutely no logic behind the universe either," she replied, "and there doesn't have to be, because for us, it's just entertainment. Your lives are stories, and we write them. You mortals are quite funny."  
  
"Good to know my life has been useful to somebody."  
  
"Such a pessimist. It doesn't really matter, though, do you want to live or not?"  
  
"I-" Raven stopped.  
  
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"  
  
"All of the sudden I don't know."  
  
"You don't have to make up your mind right away. Think it over, there are good points to each side."  
  
Raven only nodded.  
  
***  
  
"Is she going to make it?" Beast Boy asked the doctor as he exited the room.  
  
"I've done all I can," The doctor sighed, "I don't know if she'll pull though or not. It all depends on if she wants to live or not."  
  
"What do you mean?" Ericka asked.  
  
"If she doesn't want to live, then she won't. If she does want to live, then she might."  
  
Beast boy returned to the waiting room /Why on earth wouldn't anyone want to live?/ he wondered.  
  
***  
  
It seemed to Raven that she had been thinking for hours, though in reality it had only been a few minutes. She had reached her decision.  
  
"I want to live," she said to the goddess, who was currently chewing a large mouthful of the meat that had been roasting over the fire.  
  
The goddess swallowed quickly, "You're sure?"  
  
"Yes," Raven answered.  
  
"Alright then." The goddess answered.  
  
She reached over toward Raven and shut her eyes, "Sleep."  
  
***  
  
Raven awoke in hospital bed. She could just barely see Lee out of the corner of her eye. Her head hurt too much for her to move.  
  
"Lee, don't worry. It'll be fine," Will soothed.  
  
"It won't be fine! I've gotten everyone into a huge mess, and now Deirdre's going to die probably and it'll be all my fauuult!" She wailed.  
  
"Shut up, Lee," Raven muttered. /Ow! Talking not good! Bad for head!/  
  
"What?" Lee stared directly at Raven.  
  
"Crying never helps and only makes everyone else feel bad. Besides, I've got a bad enough headache as it is."  
  
"YOU'RE ALIVE!" Lee yelled.  
  
"That should be made obvious by the fact that I'm speaking to you." Raven replied dryly, but she couldn't resist a tiny smile, "What happened to Jorryn?"  
  
"He's dead," April answered, "For good."  
  
***  
  
A few days later, the doctor decided that Raven was well enough to return to Teen Titans tower.  
  
It was late, and most of the people in the tower had gone to bed already. Raven was still awake, watching some random horror movie on T.V. when Beast Boy walked into the room.  
  
"Hey," he said, smiling, "How're you feeling?"  
  
"Just because I've recovered from a near death experience doesn't mean I'm made of glass," Raven answered.  
  
"I know that, I was just worried about you," Beast Boy responded, a hint of red coloring his cheeks, "I was really scared you were going to die."  
  
"You were?" Raven asked. For some reason, it felt nice to know that Beast Boy had been worried about her.  
  
"Yeah," Beast Boy's face was now clearly red.  
  
"That's nice to hear," Raven said with a smile.  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
They sat watching the movie in silence for a few more minutes.  
  
"Raven?" Beast Boy broke the silence.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I was just wondering if you'd like to go out with me sometime?"  
  
Raven looked at him, startled. That was not the question she had been expecting to hear.  
  
"I'm sorry," Beast boy said quickly, "it was probably stupid to ask and-"  
  
"Sure," Raven answered, blushing furiously.  
  
Lee and the other girls were watching around the corner, just as they had been doing only a few days ago.  
  
"More road kill in July feelings!" April grinned.  
  
"That's still disgusting April," Ericka grimaced.  
  
"It's still true, too!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
Fluffy stuff! Yayness!  
  
I've just come up with an idea for a sequel that takes place ten years later! When Lee is kidnapped, they need all the team to get her back. But Raven isn't so keen on the idea of leaving earth. So? Whatcha think?  
  
Remember: Language and what she said gets you Joryrn!  
  
Jorryn: Why can't you give ME to them so I can get away from you?  
  
Because you are MY evil bishie and I'm not giving you away! *glomp*  
  
Jorryn: Can't...breathe... 


End file.
